Covid Stock Purchase Thread

[Rawknees'Turbo]

Originally Posted by fintstone

Heck...I was gone a month...and was not missed. In fact, apparently just the opposite. . . .

Fake news!!!

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by McLovin

With oil at an 18 year low, under $20/barrel, I have an order in for USO when the market opens tomorrow.
This is short term. I’ll have a sell order in to sell when I’ve made 20%.
Maybe I’ll use the money to buy a project car and get my Car Guy Card back

Ah, changed my mind.
I don’t fully understand how the USO ETF works so I’m canceling.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Rawknees'Turbo

Fake news!!!

Fint probably just used his alter-ego logon...Dipso .

[Rawknees'Turbo]

Originally Posted by KC911

Fint probably just used his alter-ego logon...Dipso .

Ha ha - maybe!

Or perhaps Kachi is Fint's other forum handle, and the back and fourths seen between them are just staged by Fint for his personal amusement?!?!

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by fintstone

And you want to be Yoko Ono?

Rawnee doesn't have a mean bone on his body. He is genuinely funny. I could care less if he is crazy or disagrees with me on every topic.

He is banned from PARF...but for some strange reason allowed to roam free with the bluehairs in OT. Strangest thing I have ever seen here. I have no idea the reason why.

I got a bit wound up here...and should probably slink back to PARF where they intentionally post misinformation that needs correcting (folks here are just clueless). I am beginning to think they (in PARF) just like the spanking. How they run this little bit of internet is none of my business.

I just wanted to add my two cents on the stock market moves...as I have luckily nailed it in the recent past...and was frustrated that I was unable to post good advice (when I pulled out my money a month ago)...but no one would have listened anyways. I came back in at a good time (I think) and made a lot of what I lost back. Hopefully it continues...but I am ready to act quickly if not. I think/hope I will actually come out better than before this crisis.

Or I might lose everything. It is only money.

Later my friend.

I wanted to revisit this post to champion Rawnees' freedom from Ban Island again. I also wanted to revist the stock market predictions. As I started typing, I see a 1000 point move up today (hope it will continue). I hope some took my advice and reentered as it has almost been straight up (as with all my other recommendations here in the past. If so, congratulations as you have probably made any money you lost in the drop or more. well done! If not, good luck with future investment decisions.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Couldn't sit on my hands any longer, back in.
Spread out over funds based on S&P, and some blended funds that are a little more conservative. Not too aggressive, not too greedy.
Prolly early but sometimes you just gotta say what the heck.
Got out at 25k, back in at 22k, if it doesn't fall again I'm good.
Even if it does it'll eventually rebound, just take longer.

Thanks, Fint

[sammyg2]

BTW, just sold off most if it about 10 minutes ago.
Short term move, might be back in Monday afternoon.

[fintstone]

Hard to fault profit taking. Especially after the largest 50-day rally in history.

[pmax]

So, did Buffett time it all wrong ?

[sammyg2]

Bought back some SPY this morning, up for the day even though I left some on the table. I'm OK with that. Still got a lot on the sidelines.
Don't much sweat a little lost opportunity when traded for security. Better to miss what could have been than lose what was.

It's run up big and fast. Maybe too much so? I can't help but think we're in for a small correction.
Almost time to switch from aggressive to more balanced, I heard that somewhere.

[RWebb]

we're always in for a small correction...

[biosurfer1]

My portfolio is officially ahead of where it was before everything started.

Back in March when I was watching my account drop 5 figures per day, I thought it was going to be a LONG time before I could say that. Crazy times for sure.

[sammyg2]

Did a great big cannonball back into SPY, VUG, F, CVX, and BA among others at opening bell.
To early to tell if it was a dumb thing to do but looks promising so far.

[GG Allin]

Originally Posted by GG Allin

UPRO or TQQQ on the way back up, if you can stomach it.

I've currently got a 75% gain on UPRO, just wish I had bought a lot more.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

My portfolio is officially ahead of where it was before everything started.

Back in March when I was watching my account drop 5 figures per day, I thought it was going to be a LONG time before I could say that. Crazy times for sure.

Me too. Pulled out after losing a bit, but summoned up my testicular fortitude and went 100% in at almost the exact bottom. Once again, better lucky than smart (in my case). You know what they say about fools and drunks.

[sammyg2]

The expense ratio for UPRO is .92%,
VUG is .04%

Most of the holdings are identical, just the percentages vary.
VUG is a little heavier in Microsoft, apple, amazon etc.
Performances are similar.

SPY (expense ratio of .09%) is also S&P based but more spread out.

I figure close to 1% is pretty big paycheck for managing a passive fund.

[GG Allin]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

The expense ratio for UPRO is .92%,
VUG is .04%

Most of the holdings are identical, just the percentages vary.
VUG is a little heavier in Microsoft, apple, amazon etc.
Performances are similar.

SPY (expense ratio of .09%) is also S&P based but more spread out.

I figure close to 1% is pretty big paycheck for managing a passive fund.

UPRO is triple leveraged, not for the faint of heart. I only bought a little. I've got a friend who was pushing me to go big. He went big (several hundred thousand) on TQQQ, triple leveraged Nasdaq. Averaged around $37 per share. He made a fortune.

[sammyg2]

I did not know that. Learn something new every day.
Seems a bit more risky than I'm comfortable with in my "advanced" years but I can see how it would be advantageous last month and this month and maybe next
I still have a lot more research to do. This stuff can be complicated!

3 Triple-Leveraged ETFs, and Why You Shouldn't Buy Any of Them
It may sound like a good idea to multiply your investment dollars by three, but here's what you should know.
Jun 25, 2017 at 6:07PM


Leveraged exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, can effectively double or triple your exposure to a certain index or asset class and can be used to create a long (bull) or short (bear) position. For example, a triple-leveraged S&P 500 ETF will return three times the daily performance of that index. However, before you buy a triple-leveraged ETF, it's important to know how they work -- and the drawbacks of holding them for long periods of time.
Three examples of triple-leveraged ETFs

To illustrate what these investment vehicles are and what they might be used for, here are three examples of popular triple-leveraged ETFs. To be clear, I'm not recommending or endorsing any of these.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSEMKT:FAS) tracks the Russell 1000 Financial Services Index, whose top holdings include Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The fund uses instruments that seek to produce 300% of the index's daily performance.

The ProShares UltraPro Short S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:SPXU) is an inverse triple-leveraged ETF that aims to return three times the inverse of the S&P 500's daily performance. In other words, if the S&P 500 decreases by 1% today, this fund should theoretically gain 3%.

The Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 3X Shares (NYSEMKT:NUGT) amplifies the daily performance of the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index, which includes companies that primarily mine for gold.

Leveraged ETFs tend to have above-average expense ratios (fees), and that is certainly the case with the ETFs I mentioned above, although I wouldn't necessarily call the fees excessive. Besides, the fees aren't the reason most investors should avoid leveraged ETFs.

Here's the problem. Notice the key word "daily" that appears in all three fund descriptions. Triple-leveraged ETFs typically produce triple the daily return of the underlying index/investment. You might think that this would produce triple the return of the index over long periods of time, but mathematically, this is simply not the case.

Consider this simplified example. Let's say that a certain stock index that starts at $100 falls by 20% on the first day (now $80), rallies by 20% on the second day (now $96), and then falls by 25% on the third day (now $72). Overall, this produces a net loss of 28% for the three-day period.

A triple-leveraged ETF tracking the same index would fall by 60% on the first day (now $40), rise by 60% on the second day (now $64), and drop by 75% on the third day (now $16). This translates to a three-day loss of 84%, which is exactly three times the loss of the index. No big surprise yet.

The problem is what these loss percentages mean. In the first case, the non-leveraged ETF would have to rise by 39% to get you back to even. On the other hand, the leveraged ETF would have to rally by a staggering 525% just to break even.

Again, this is a simplified example, but mathematically, the point is that declines in the index have a more devastating effect on the long-term performance of leveraged ETFs, essentially creating a negative bias over time (unless the index goes straight up forever). In other words, these funds rarely, if ever, match triple their index's performance over long time periods.
Examples

Take a look at the performance stats in the table. As an example, the triple-leveraged financial sector ETF averaged a 45.9% annualized total return over the past five years, which sounds excellent at first. One-third of this would be 15.3%. However, the financial sector has generated total annualized returns of 17.5%, on average, over the same time period. So if the leveraged ETF had returned triple the index's return each year, the annualized return should have been a much greater 52.5%.

On the other hand, consider the example of the triple-short S&P 500 ETF. If you had simply shorted the S&P 500 over the past five years, you would have lost 54.6% of your investment. So a $10,000 investment would have turned into $4,540. Not great performance by any definition. However, if you had purchased the triple-leveraged short S&P 500 ETF, you would be down 92.1%. Your $10,000 investment would now be worth just $790.

The takeaway is this: If the underlying index moves favorably, triple-leveraged funds can certainly go up, but they tend not to actually produce three times the underlying index's performance. On the other hand, when the underlying index isn't moving in your favor, triple-leveraged ETFs can be absolutely dangerous.
The Foolish bottom line

To be perfectly clear, leveraged ETFs like those I discussed here certainly serve a purpose. For example, professional traders can use them as a hedge against big market moves.

Rather, I'm saying that these make lousy long-term investments and should therefore be avoided by investors who have a long-term focus. In other words, if you want to bet on the S&P 500, buy a standard S&P 500 index fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:VOO). Leave the leveraged ETF versions of this investment alone.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/25/3-triple-leveraged-etfs-and-why-you-shouldnt-buy-a.aspx

[island911]

Did anyone say gun and glass manufacturers?

Seems they are doing great.

[sammyg2]

VUG vs. S&P